Destruction Rites: Ephemerality and Demolition in Postwar Visual Culture

Description

In the early sixties, crowds gathered to watch rites of destruction - from the demolition derby where makeshift cars crashed into each other for sport, to concerts where musicians destroyed their instruments, to performances of self-destructing machines staged by contemporary artists. Destruction, in both its playful and fearsome aspects, was ubiquitous in the new Atomic Age. This complicated subjectivity was not just a way for people to find catharsis amid the fears of annihilation and postwar trauma, but also a complex instantiation of ideological crisis-in a time with some seriously conflicted political myths.Destruction Rites explores the ephemeral visual culture of destruction in the postwar era and its links to contemporary art. It examines the demolition derby; games and toys based on warfare; playgrounds situated in bomb sites; and the rise of garage sales, where goods designed for obsolescence and destined for the garbage heap are reclaimed and repurposed by local communities. Mona Hadler looks at artists such as Jean Tinguely, Niki de Saint Phalle, Martha Rosler and Vito Acconci to expose how the 1960s saw destruction, construction and the everyday collide as never before. During the Atomic age, whether in the public sphere or art museums, destruction could be transformed into a constructive force and art objects and performances often oscillated between the two. Cover Half-title Endorsement Title page Copyright information Dedication Table of contents List of figures Acknowledgments Introduction 1 The Demolition Derby Background, History, Rules of the Game The Demolition Derby as an Antiproductive Ritual Car Culture The Sexuality of the Automobile Car Crashes and Trauma The Car, the Crash and Destructive/Constructive Practices in Art DIAS and Destruction in Art The Derby and Tinguely: From the Fairgrounds to the Museum 2 Military Games of Destruction War Games Board Games and Simulations War Games in Art 3 Mid-century Hobbies and Toys of Destruction Model Making Models, Science Fiction and Advertising War Figurines – Dolls and Action Figures Mid-century Hobbies and Toys of Destruction in Art: Niki de Saint Phalle and Lee Bontecou 4 Ephemerality and Creative Destruction in the Public Space Adventure Playgrounds Toys and Children’s Books of Destruction Artists and Destruction in the Public Space 5 Garage Sales and Planned Obsolescence The New Collecting Artists’ Response: From the Flea Market to the Garage Sale Conclusion Notes Introduction Chapter 1: The Demolition Derby Chapter 2: Military Games of Destruction Chapter 3: Mid-century Hobbies and Toys of Destruction Chapter 4: Ephemerality and Creative Destruction in the Public Space Chapter 5: Garage Sales and Planned Obsolescence Conclusion Index